Absorbent pad holder with retaining clamp structure



Jan. 20, 1953 H. A. GARMERS ABSORBENT PAD HOLDER WITH RETAINING CLAMP STRUCTURE Filed June 5, 1950 Patented Jan. 20, 1953 ABSORBENT PAD HOLDER WITH, RETAINING CLAMP STRUCTURE HermanA. Garmers, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application June 5, 1950, Serial No. 166,133

6 Claims.

This invention relates generally to dental cotton roll holders and particularly to a clamping structure for securely holding the rolls in the desired absorbent position.

I originally invented a cotton roll holder disclosed in Canadian Patent #323,186, granted June 14, 1932, and my present invention is an improvement on the structure disclosed therein.

It is an object of my present invention to provide a new and improved cotton roll holder wherein the chin engaging clamp is positioned to positively prevent displacement of the rolls when said chin clamp is in clamping position.

It is another object to provide a chin clamping member for cotton roll holders which is connected to the lateral side portion thereof by a depending clamp mounting arm which permits a clamp to extend inwardly under the chin on one side thereof to underlie the roll retaining elements and produce an extremely stable, highly efficient roll holding structure.

More specifically, it is an object to provide a roll holding structure having a pair of interconnected roll holding elements disposed in substantially parallel spaced laterally opposed relation and provided with a depending clamp carrying arm mounted laterally of said roll holding elements and extending downwardly from said lateral mounting position with an adjustable clamping element vertically settable thereon, said clamping element having an upwardly curved lip to positively engage the inner lateral portion of the mandible border directly below said roll holding elements to produce an extremely stable structure when in clamping position.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing my improved cotton roll holder in operative position within the mouth of a patient;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the roll holder showing in dotted lines a pair of rolls retained therein;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational View of the structure shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view showing the roll holding structure in operative position; and

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view showing the detail of the sliding connection between the clamping element and the clamp mounting'arm.

As illustrated in the accompanying drawings, I provide a cotton roll holder having a pair of roll retaining elements 6 which, in the form shown, have elongated slots centrally formed longitudinally thereof and are curved upwardly at the free end portions thereof. For purposes of convenience, the free ends of said roll retaining elements 6 will be referred to as the rear ends thereof and the forward ends of said elements 6 are interconnected by the interconnection element 1. Also, for purposes of convenience the lingual or tongue side of the unit will be referred to as the inner side and the labial or lip side of the unit will be referred to as the outer side. The two roll retaining elements or arms 6 are disposed in substantially parallel spaced laterally opposed relation and have the roll piercing prongs 6a connected at front ends to the forward portion of said elements 6 and extending rearwardly therefrom longitudinally of the elongated slots within said elements 6 and of a length adapting them to receive a cotton roll thereon.

The interconnection member 1 extends forwardly from the outer or labial roll retaining element 6 and is curved at 1a to conform to the curvature of the row of teeth, as best shown in Fig. 1. An upwardly extending bridging element ID is formed integral with said interconnection member 1 and extends rearwardly from the forward end of the curved portion la of said interconnection member I and is connected at its rear end to the front end'of the inner or lingual roll retaining element 6. The entire interconnection element 1 as viewed in plan is substantially U- shaped, as best shown in Fig. 2, and as viewed in elevation the curved portion Ia lies substantially in the plane of the roll retaining elements and is of an inverted but somewhat distorted U-shape, as best shown in Fig. 3, with the bridging element lb extending upwardly and rearwardly therefrom to rise over the lower front teeth, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The curved portion la serves to depress the lower lip adjacent the front or anterior portion of the mouth and is supported on the anterior lip portion. The rear or posterior portion of the outer or labial roll retaining element with a roll mounted therein is supported on the floor of the mouth on the labial side of the row of teeth, while the lingual or inner roll retaining element with a roll mounted therein is supported on the lingual side of the posterior teeth.

The clamping structure consists in a depending clamp mounting arm 8 fixed at its upper portion substantially adjacent the forward end of the outer roll retaining element and has a laterally outwardly curved upper portion 8a to provide clearance for the lip, as best shown in Fig. 4. A clamp element 9 is slidably mounted on the lower depending straight shank portion 812 of the mounting arm 8 and has a plane-concave jaw-engaging element 9a formed with an upwardly extending gripping and retaining lip 91;. The lower extremity of the shank 8b is bent outwardly to form a retaining flange or tongue 80 with a punched stop element 8d formed therein to prevent the clamp 9 from becoming separated from the rest of the roll holding unit.

The following is a description of the operation of my improved roll holder. The cotton mois ture absorbing rolls are initially thrust onto the prongs 6a in close fitting engagement with under surfaces of the roll retaining elements and the roll retaining elements are positioned within the mouth, as shown in Fig. 1, one roll being placed on the labial or outer side of the posterior teeth and the other roll being placed on the lingual or inner side thereof. "The curved portion la f the interconnection element 7 is supported on the anterior portion of the lower lip and serves to depress the same to permit clearance for the operative area. The clamp 9 is shifted upwardly until the jaw-engaging element 9a comes in contact with the lateral portion of the mandible border and directly underlies the two roll holding elements'B, as best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, to produce an extremely stable structure. retaining lip 9b in efiect hooks under the mandible border and positively prevents shifting of the clamp 9 and securely holds the pads in their predetermined optimum absorbing position, as shown in Fig. 1. The lateral positioning of the clamp and clamp carrying arm, along with the lip 9b, formed on the end portion of the clamp, combines with the roll retaining elements 6 and the curved portion la of the interconnection element 1 to produce a stable structure which can not be shifted by force from the tongue of the patient. The curved portion of the interconnection element 1 supports the anterior portion of the unit while the two roll retaining elements 6 with rolls mounted thereon firmly support the posterior portions of the unit. By positioning the clamp intermediately of the posterior and anterior portions of the unit and substantially medially thereof it will be seen that a highly stable roll holder has been produced.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that I have provided an improved cotton roll holder particularly adapted to resist shifting movement exertedby the tongue of a patient and which is constructed to securely hold the cotton rolls in optimum absorbing position on each side of the posterior teeth. It should be noted that these roll holders must be made in both right and left hand units and that a. left hand unit is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and is adapted to be mounted on the left side of the mouth of the patient.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts without'departing from the scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. A cotton roll holder comprising a pair of interconnected roll retaining elements disposed in substantially parallel laterally spaced relation and forming an outer retaining element and an inner retaining element, a depending clamp mounting arm, connected to the outer roll retaining element and disposed directly laterally outwardly thereof to overlie the adjacent portion The i of the lower lip and extending downwardly therefrom below the mandible border, a clamp shift ably mounted on said arm for clamping engagement against the under side of the lateral portion of the mandible border.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1 and said clamp being concavely shaped to receive and conform to said lateral portion of the mandible border to securely retain the structure in operative position.

3. A cotton roll holder comprising a pair of substantially parallel laterally spaced roll retaining elements, an interconnection member interconnecting the anterior ends of said roll retaining elements and constructed with the labial portion thereof curved to be supported on the inner portion of the lower anterior lip, said interconnection member having a bridging element interconnecting the curved labial portion with the lingual pad retaining element, a depending clamp mounting arm connected to the labial portion of the structure at substantially the midpoint between the posterior end of the labial roll retaining element and the anterior end of the curved labial portion of the interconnection member and extending laterally outwardly for a short distance from the labial roll retaining element and downwardly, a clamp mounted for shifting movement longitudinally of said arm for clamping engagement against the under side of the lateral. portion of the mandible border.

4. The structure set forth in claim 3, and said clamp being concavely shaped to provide a retaining lip on the end portion thereof to receive and securely retain the structure in operative position.

5. A holder for cotton rolls comprising inner and outer roll-carrying arms having front ends connected with ends of a lip-engaging interconnection element with which the inner arm is connected being formedwith an upwardly projecting bridge of substantially inverted U-shape for spanning front teeth, a transverse side arm; extending outwardly and downwardly from the outer side edge of the outer roll-carrying arm and a jaw-engaging clamp shiftable vertically along the side arm to adjusted positions and extending inwardly therefrom in position for engaging. under the side portion of a jaw bond along which the inner and outer roll-carrying arms extend and gripping the said portion of the jaw bone intermediate the length thereof.

6. The structure of claim 5 wherein the rollcarrying arms are formed with longitudinally extended slots, and a pincarried by each ofsaid arms and extending longitudinally thereof with its front end attached to the arm adjacent the front end of the slot and its free end terminating near the rear end of the slot. l

A. GARMERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

